The invention is directed to a surface sweeping machine, commonly referred to as a road sweeper, which utilizes a conventional truck body including a cab and a frame with the latter having mounted thereon a pick-up head, a hopper, a centrifugal separator, a blower, a blower housing, and associated openings and conduits for circulating air-entrained debris through the centrifugal separator and thereby depositing debris in the hopper for subsequent discharge/dumping.
A typical road sweeper of the latter construction is found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,512,206 and 3,545,181, each in the name of Bernard W. Young granted on May 19 and Dec. 8, 1970, respectively. A more recent surface sweeping machine having an over-the-cap hopper which pivots to a dumping position is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,485 granted on Dec. 17, 1991 to Gary B. Young et al. In all three of the latter surface sweeping machines or road sweepers debris from the hopper is discharged through a debris opening when the hopper door is pivoted to an open position by a pair of hydraulic cylinders.